2017 Closet Goals: Look and Feel Your Best Self Everyday!

Personal Style isn’t about how much we spend on clothing, or how big and fancy our shoe collection is. Authentic Personal Style radiates from the inside out. It is how we feel, as we go out and present ourselves to the world each day. Now, take a moment to think back on a day, when you felt your best self – totally put together, in a outfit you love.

How did you feel?

Confident? Calm? Bold? Stylish?

Now, imagine a day where for-the-life-of-you, you could not get it together. After trying on countless pieces, now frazzled and out of time, you settle on something not right.

How did you feel?

Yucky? Frustrated? Annoyed? Impatient? Angry that you wasted an extra 30 minutes of your day, putting together a look you don’t even like?

What if you could feel your best self everyday?

Easier said than done.

My dear friend Amy, who came up with the mantra, I will only wear items I love, that love me back, approaches her closet exactly this way. A mom of 3 teen boys, Amy approaches her closet with a minimalist approach. One, she doesn’t have time to mess around. And two, she actually enjoys purging her closet – which as a result is uncluttered, easy to shop, and workable. Amy understands her body type, what colors and silhouettes best flatter her, and doesn’t succumb to trends that don’t enhance her best self. As a result she always looks put together, with ease and confidence. She has a great sense Personal Style. Catch Amy’s style, in this post (HERE)

Amy only allows items she loves, to have a space in her closet.

That’s all great Suzanne, where do I even begin?

One of my 2017 Closet Goals, is to have a curated closet – filled only with items that I absolutely love.

What does this mean?

A tuned-up closet would include only great fitting garments, in colors and silhouettes that flatter my body type, that all work together with ease. A workable closet, would allow me to create endless outfits from pieces I love. Resulting in less frustration – feeling confident, put together and comfortable – not just some days…everyday.

How great would that be?

Getting Started

Most likely, when you go to get dressed in the morning, you to grab the same pieces – items you love for whatever reason. It’s a known fact, that we wear a small percentage, of what’s hanging in our closet. Ask yourself why you gravitate towards the same pieces, again and again. Maybe because its easy, or tried and true. Whatever the reason, this is why we get bored with our wardrobe. And, shopping, will NOT fix the frustration you have over feeling you have nothing to wear. You most likely have plenty, just not the “right” pieces for YOU. Frustrated with my own closet, I did a bit of purging/re-organizing this past weekend. Now, if your closet is a hot mess, and you feel it needs to begutted, you may want to clean it first. For steps on clearing the space, check out, “How to Make Some Room; Closet Edit Part 1″ (HERE).

Thrilled with the results of my mini-cleanse, I wanted to share this simple process, that worked for me.

Step 1: Go to your closet. Without thinking to hard, go quickly through it, pulling out every piece that you have already worn this season. Place those pieces front and center.

Step 4: You now have a “favorite” section, and a “leftover” section. Take a hard look at the leftovers. Are there garments you know you will never wear, items you dislike, gifts that aren’t your style, pieces that don’t fit, itch, aren’t flattering, etc? Those can go – donate, consign, resell them yourself, or give it to a friend. The rest, leave it for now. Do not go to step 5 before completing this last part. You don’t get to play, before you purge! Not sure of what best flatters your body? Discover your personal shape in this post,“Most FlatteringPieces for Your Body Type”(HERE)

Step 5: Now the fun begins! Go to your “favorite” section and create 4-5 (or more!) outfits that are truly “you”. Try them on, how do you feel? Happy, confident, successful, sexy? Wear those this week. Did you feel great when you wore them? If not why? Is there a piece you need, to complete the look? An accessory that would make it all come together? Do you have this amazing blouse, but no bottom to wear with it? How many tops do you own, that work with your #1 favorite jean or bottom? Why is that piece your favorite bottom? Is it the fit, style, wash? What pattern’s do you notice? If a friend looked at your “favorites”, would they see a pattern? Don’t go shop, but jot down some notes, and create a wish list. I also made a list of what NOT to buy.

Step 6: (I am still working this step) Challenge yourself to work those “leftovers” into your closet for a week or so. If it’s just not happening, ask yourself why. Are you afraid to part with a piece because you paid too much for it? Was it a gift? Are you hoping to fit back into it someday?

What I Learned

I love flare jeans, they are the most flattering jean for my body type – but own more skinnies, hmmm…

I own more tops that work back to skinny jeans (looks I’ve seen on other women), when skinnies are my least comfortable style of jean. That said, they may be THE jean for your body type!

Two of my 3 pairs of flare jeans, are too long to wear with any of my favorite booties (under 3″) – they only work with my 4″+ heels, which I am now purging from my life, because they make me grumpy when I wear them. The long flares – they are being hemmed at the tailor!

I prefer to “tuck-out” vs. “tuck-in”, which is why I love tunic blouses, hip-length sweaters and tees.

I hate collars, or any binding structured garment.

I dislike stripes and plaid. I love chevron, animal, or abstract floral prints – so off they go! #nostripes #noplaid. Again, this is where personal style comes in – it’s just not for me, I love plaid on my friend Amy,and my daughter looks beautiful in stripes! When I post an outfit on Instagram wearing plaid, I get tons of “likes” Yet, I don’t feel my best self in plaid, I feel like someone else I don’t know.

I dislike anything that binds, itches, or feels synthetic. I prefer silk, cashmere, premium denim ( now I know where to invest!)

Skirts that require something being tucked into them, simply do not work for my body type, unless they are a drop waist.

I love a fabulous, well made large statement handbag. I love the smell and feel of beautiful leather.

I own way to many scarves, and “career” dresses. I love fringe on anything.

I adore long open front sweaters and vests. Perhaps because I am always cold, or I like the movement they make when I walk. Maybe because in a warmer California climate, they replace a coat or jacket.

I prefer long unique pendant necklaces over short statement pieces or classic jewelry.

Moving Forward

Work through those “leftovers” till they are gone. If you are unable to purge a piece here and there, create a tote for “purgatory” items. These are items that you cannot part with (which is totally OK), to re-visit at a later date. I do believe that they need to be out of your everyday space, otherwise you will have “mind clutter” every morning when you go to get dressed. These few pieces will haunt you, and prevent you from feeling you best stylish self, each and every day.

Let’s Chat!

What is the state of your closet today?

Could your closet be holding you back, from being your best self?

Do you feel your best confident self every day?

When you feel your best, how does your day go?

Are you more productive? Do you laugh more? Try new things? Feel creative?

Hi Suzanne,
I never subscribe to any blogs, but i connected with you, so here I am!
My life is busy like yours and i also share a love of fashion and “feeling good”.
Thank you for this post. I am having one of those “busy” days, so I quickly glanced at your post and made a note to take time out tomorrow to review in detail. Thanks for the time and thought you put into your blog.
May 2017 be happy for you and your family! 🙂

Hi Jeanne! You are so welcome, this was a fun post to write. Part 2 is now up on the blog – if you want to take a look when you have a moment! I’m so happy to see you here, and thrilled to hear that you enjoy visiting my little space here on the web! THanks for stopping by! XO Suzanne

Great advice! Only wearing things that make us feel our best is so important. I bought a lot less last year and that has actually helped me reevaluate a lot of items in my closet. I purged quite a bit, but there are still items that don’t get worn very much – sometimes that’s okay as I enjoy wearing them when I do, but they may not work very well most of time because of my lifestyle. But since I have very limited closet space, I still have to deal with them somehow…

Hi Andrea! I totally agree, I think if we wear only what we love – and are happy with whats hanging in our closet, remixing is easy and as a result we buy less. I think a key piece is understanding your own style (which you do so well!) and not falling into the trap of trends that do not reflect your style or lifestyle. Like you, I have pieces that I love, that really don’t work with my everyday life. I place a garment bag over them, out of site – but in reach if needed for a fun occassion! Have a great week! XO Suzanne

I love everything i have and it would take years to wear it all…i am going to reorganize so that everyday clothes are easy to find…i am always looking for something i know i have and then the search and rescue begins…and I grab something black….which is time consuming and not always uplifting….it is so hard for me to get rid of gift or memory clothes..

Hi Cyndy! Since you love everything, maybe organize it by truly “wear now” items to maximize your winter wardrobe, till spring rolls in? I know, gifts are hard as well as sentimental items. I keep mine, just store those items in a small clear bin in an area of my closet where I can get to them as needed, but they are out of my daily line of vision. Just a thought! Thanks for dropping a comment! XO

Hi Helen! Great to see you here! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed this post – I take it as a huge compliment coming from you, being an accountant, that you found it was systematic and useful. I purged the most I ever have this past month, and I have to say getting dressed and creating new outfits has never been so fun and rewarding! XO

Latest Sale Happenings and Promos!

I invite you to pop on over to my Facebook Page @AskSuzanne every Friday afternoon for my 2-3 min weekly tutorials! I keep the videos pinned to the top of my page for easy viewing through the weekends.

New markdowns at Nordstrom this week! I’m currently shopping designer sunnies (um, Burberry, Prada!), denim, shoes and even pieces previously on sale at the Anniversary Sale – no back on sale!

Anyone check out Target lately? They are nailing it with the WhoWhatWear collection for fall!

ThredUp: Take 50% off your 1st purchase on womens clothing with Promo Code “WOMENS50”. Note: this is for first time users only. Pop on over to this weekend’s blog post for details and links.